How to create an advertisement in Google Ads to increase the clickthrough rate

One of the important components of paid search advertising is an advertisement. It is with the help of it that we must cut off non-target customers, solve the pain of a potential customer and direct them to the page where they can find a clear answer to their query.

Let's figure out what you need to know and consider in order for your advertisements on the Google search network to be as effective as possible.

Before you start creating advertisements, you need to:

• examine the product/service;
  
• analyze the market and competitors;
  
• create a unique selling proposition (USP);
  
• identify the target audience;
  
• work out the semantic kernel;
  
• work out the structure;
  
• group keywords;
  
• analyze competitor advertisements.
  

Let's analyze the key points of this algorithm in more detail.

You can do this in many ways, but I will only describe two of them.

The first one is very simple: we type a query that will be in keywords and look at the Google search results. Then we study what are the advertisements, competitor USPs, etc.

The second method is more interesting since you can analyze data not only by key queries but also by competitor domains. To do this, you can use the Serpstat API and upload all the advertisements to Google Spreadsheets where you can easily copy them from and compare.

A lot of calls to action are usually repeated. We write them out in a table in percentage terms and see which ones are found most frequently. Later we will be able to test the advertisements; the first one with that call to action and the second one with a unique call to action, if possible.

If you want to show any text in all ads, you can pin it using a special icon.

This can be done in one of the headers and in one of the descriptions. It is not recommended to pin more elements since in this case the meaning of the responsive advertisement is lost because its advantage is precisely in the fact that the system selects various text combinations itself.

This Google feature allows you to dynamically add keywords to your ad text that match your search query. You can find more details in help.

It is most often used for specific offers depending on the device. For example, if a visitor opens a Google search from a mobile device, you can offer them a discount on a call right now, a delivery deal, etc.

It is also possible to specify conditions in the rules to show a certain offer only to those visitors who, for example, added a product to the basket but did not complete order. You can see an example in the picture:

All features are described in detail in Google Ads Help.

This function works very well for various events and time-limited promotions. Here's an example:

They are suitable for online stores. They allow displaying a city or a particular product in an advertisement. Here's an example:

You can read about the options of using this feature in the official help article.

Conditions for displaying ads with these modifiers:

• for each modifier there is a default value in case there are problems with the substitution of data from the feed;
• in the group where this ad is included, there are also regular advertisements (without modifiers);
• the restrictions on the number of characters are met when substituting values that replace the modifier;
  
• Google's editorial and professional requirements are met.
  

Modifiers cannot be stopped separately from advertisements. If necessary, you can temporarily disable them in two ways:

1. Pause the ads in which these modifiers are configured.
   
2. Delete business feeds referenced by modifiers.
   

For example, to disable a modifier in one of the ad groups, delete the rows that target this group.

By the way, emojis in advertisements do not always work, they need to be tested. Most often, moderation approves them when emojis are used in the line "Display URL" and copied from Emojipedia.

To make sure advertisements are displayed correctly on mobile devices, pay attention to:

• on mobile, the "Call" button can replace part of the advertising text;
  
• the text has a lot of wide letters (for example, "w") and a few narrow ones (like "g"), and the title does not fit the screens;
  

To avoid that, reduce the total length of both headlines to 33 characters.

Extensions can be automatic and manual.

In some cases, it is recommended to disable automatic extensions since Google composes them itself and they do not always show what is worth displaying. I recommend controlling the extensions and specifying only those that will help visitors find answers and not distract them from the goal.

The example below shows the types and examples of extensions in advertisements:

If you have an online store or taxi service, it is irrational to use the "Location" extension since it is better to replace it with more useful data. Below are examples of successful extensions for different target actions:

Advertisements on the Google Ads search network are an effective way to attract new visitors, leads, and customers, but they must be composed carefully, thoughtfully and individually in each case.

In this article, we've explored how to increase the clickthrough rate of advertisements (CTR) by analyzing competitors, configuring responsive ads, using keywords, functions, modifiers, extensions, and other tools.

Eventually, the performance of each tool and the overall payback of paid search advertising depends on the specialist who launches it and the customer who orders it.